Short Reviews [Soniq Theater - 2021 - "Time and Space"]

One thing that can be said about keyboard player Alfred Mueller is that he is incredibly consistent, both in terms of his music and output. Every January he releases a new album, both digitally and as a CD-R, saying that people can pay what they want for it. Now, in some ways this has meant he has stayed in the deepest bowels of the underground so that even those familiar with the scene either have never heard of him, or feel the quality of the music must be somewhat lacking in that he does not spend money on self-promotion or artwork, and does not even charge for people to download his music. I look at it in a different way altogether, in that Alfred does not make music because he wants to, he does it because he must. There is an inner driving force that demands he keeps putting his music out there, even though it is unlikely that many will hear it or write about it. This is his twenty first solo album, and I have reviewed every single one of them, as well as the group he was in prior to starting down this path, Rachel’s Birthday. Since his self-titled debut came out in 2000 there has been an album a year, which sometimes has included guests, and sometimes not. Here we find Alfred working totally solo, layering his keyboards together in a manner which is often reminiscent of the more playful styles of Wakeman, or as the case with the title cut he moves far more into the area of Jean Michel Jarre. The sounds he uses are fresh, and these days the synthetic drums sounds are so far removed from the early days that I find them quite tolerable! It is a shame that this DIY outfit is not more widely known or appreciated as yet again we have an incredibly solid album which is far more enjoyable and entertaining than many might imagine. All his music is available free of charge, so what do you have to lose by jumping over to Bandcamp and giving him a listen? If you enjoy multi-layered keyboard instrumentals, then you may well be in for a surprise.